


Rekindled Hope

by LeeMorrigan



Series: Fire & Ice [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Asgard, F/M, Firebrand - Freeform, Flashbacks, Hallucinations, Mad Titan, Maeve - Freeform, Memories, Mind Control, Nightmares, Soul Stone, Visions of the Future, clint barton - Freeform, defeating Thanos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-01-15 17:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18503815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeeMorrigan/pseuds/LeeMorrigan
Summary: Centuries ago, Frigga had a vision of her sons and a small company battling a mad titan for the fate of the universe. She prepared Heimdall and her sons, each according to the role they would play in this battle for the future of all living things. Now the events of her vision are coming to pass and Loki must act, with the help of Brunnhilde, Maeve, Heimdall, Thor, and eventually the Avengers, to stop Thanos and return half of the universe post-Snap.





	1. Ashes to Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> This is a companion piece to the events of the 6th part of my SHAPE OF SHADOWS series, but can be read without reading the SHAPE OF SHADOWS series. There will be overlap, if you read both series, but this will be from Loki/Thor/Maeve/Brunnhilde's perspectives on it rather than Steve/Bronach/Nat/Clint's, and there will be a bunch of events you'll see here that were only alluded to in OUT OF THE DARK.
> 
> Trigger Warnings: Nightmares, hallucinations, memories of being under mind-control and of battles, and mentions of death and near-death experiences.

Loki woke with a start, his hair still damp from the bath Maeve had talked him into. Beside him, she law sleeping deeply. A look around the room confirmed that Thor still slept just as soundly as Maeve. He didn’t wish to disturb them, so he eased from the bed he shared with Maeve, past the cot Thor had taken to, and slipped through the door and out into the hall. It was darkened though hardly without any sources of light, the hum of the engines gave a slight noise that did nothing to ease Loki’s nerves.

“Prince Loki.”

Loki spun around to find Heimdall. No one so large and sturdy should be half so stealthy.

“You dreamed of Frigga’s prophecy?”

Loki nodded.

“Yes.”

“It will come to pass on this day. Quickly, ready yourself and say nothing to Thor.”

Loki knew he hadn’t the time to argue or protest. Instead, he slipped silently back into the room and cast a spell to keep Thor unable to hear or see what would transpire for the next few minutes as Loki moved to wake Maeve.

“Maeve? Maeve, my darling, you must wake up.”

She groggily looked over at him, her dark eyes unfocused.

“What is wrong?”

“We must go. Now. Get up, get dressed, and follow me.”

“Where’s Thor? Are we being boarded or something?”

Moving to perch at the edge of the hard, narrow bed, Loki leveled his gaze at her and spoke in a quiet, serious tone.

“We haven’t much time. Frigga had a vision, centuries ago. The events she foresaw are about to happen. Please do not argue, but we must go. Quickly. We can’t tell Thor.”

He had known that telling her this was Frigga’s vision, would ensure her total cooperation. Maeve had always held the upmost respect and admiration for Frigga as a Queen, a Mother, and for her gifts with magic and the Sight. She would never question a vision from Queen Frigga. They readied themselves quickly and then made their way out, Loki lifting the spell on Thor’s senses to allow his brother to know when the attack came, and Loki ran to meet Heimdall and Brunnhilde.

“I do not understand why I have been dragged out here.”, Brunnhilde said.

Heimdall answered her.

“Queen Frigga had a vision, and in it she saw a Valkyrie taking Loki and one of the last Firebrand, to a place she called The In Between. Loki knows how to guide you there, but you and Maeve must make sure he arrives in one piece. We will need him intact.”

Brunnhilde had not been a protector of Asgard or her royal family, in more than an age. Yet still, she felt those stirrings of loyalty and old oaths pulling her to action.

“Alright, I’ll ready the ship.”

Heimdall turned his attention to Loki and Maeve. The Prince seemed to have a determined look.

“I will distract the Titan enough for you to get Banner out of here and for you to send he and Thor to Earth.”

“I cannot send Thor. Frigga said he must be found by the Titan’s daughter. I do not know what that means, but she was insistent that I leave him be. You must leave with Maeve, and you cannot take Thor nor can I cast him elsewhere.”

He could see that Loki was more worried than he intended anyone know, while Maeve looked torn between her loyalty to Loki and her nature inclination to fight any threat head-on.

“Maeve, protect Loki. He is vital in the next steps to defeating the Titan.”

Maeve nodded, reaching to offer Heimdall a warrior’s handshake. He returned the gesture.

“Till we meet again, Princess.”

She smiled, nodding.

“Now go.”

They rushed after Brunnhilde, leaving Heimdall in the hanger alone as all the lights began to flicker, then were replaced with the red glow to indicate a threat alert. Heimdall let out a breath. Frigga’s vision was coming to pass. Soon, Heimdall would die. Loki had never been informed of that part of the plan. As a child, he had asked why Heimdall did not take he and Thor away to safety. Frigga had wished to spare him the fear of her full vision. She told him that Heimdall had to do something with Thor, so that Thor could meet Loki later and that together, along with some friends they had yet to meet, they would defeat a Titan.

Over the years, Frigga made sure to teach Loki enough to ensure he could find the In Between and be able to do what was needed of him when he arrived into The In Between place. Meanwhile, she told Odin enough to make sure he knew he needed to make sure Thor was ready to handle the threat of a titan great enough to defeat Odin, with the power of Time and Reality on the Titan’s side. Heimdall had been warned by Frigga, that she had foreseen his death at the hands of the Titan. He had accepted this and knew what was needed of him.

Walking, Heimdall went to meet Thor. He had to protect the King and keep him safe enough for Loki’s full plan.  Brunnhilde would need to keep them just close enough, with the ship cloaked by Loki’s magic, for Loki to ensnare Thanos, and then to make sure the cube fell into Thanos’s hands. Heimdall took the cube from his robes and looked at it. Moments from now, it would fuel the mad power of a Titan who even Frigga and Odin feared.

~^~^~^~   ~^~^~^~   ~^~^~^~

Loki stood back, his chest heaving, a sheen of sweat covering his form. Maeve’s hands held him upright as he shook. He had not made a physically solid projection in so long that he had worried he may be unable to maintain it long enough. His mother had taught him to make projections, and after her vision, she had begun training him to make them solid. Soon, she was insisting he sit in a room where he could watch his solid projection as it fired arrows at targets, deflected blows from sparring partners, and even juggled while reciting poems.

At the time, Loki had not understood why his mother so diligently and so strictly trained him on this particular skill. It was not until, after a particularly grueling training session, Loki had collapsed and lay unconscious for almost two days. When he woke, Frigga told him of her vision as an explanation of why she was pushing him so hard. She had three skills she needed him to master to survive the events of her vision. Solid projections that could even speak and hold objects, the ability to project or hide the magical signature of a powerful artifact, and to read the cosmos to know when he could travel through the ancient causeways of the universe. He had studied well after learning he, Thor, Heimdall, and Maeve’s lives would depend on his proficiency.

“Loki?”

He nodded to Brunnhilde.

“I am alright, just tired. I have not rested enough for this and… it has been a while since I last did such a thing.”

She nodded, returning her attention to the scene in front of them.

“Are we still shielded from view?”

“Yes.”, Loki assured her, “Thanos is entirely unaware of our presence here. He believes he just killed me on the bridge, he does not know of you or Maeve.”

“What about Thor?”, Maeve asked. “And Heimdall?”

“Heimdall is dead.”

Both women looked at him, shocked.

“Frigga foresaw it. She believed I did not know but… I saw it in her nightmares once. She knew he would die. She could protect Thor, she could teach me to protect myself, she knew that you both had to come with me. She never could find a way to save Heimdall. At least not here.”

“Not here?”, Brunnhilde asked.

“But Frigga had a plan?”, Maeve asked.

“Yes, she did. And if we’re successful in it, we can save everyone.”

“If.”, echoed Brunnhilde.

“If.”

~^~^~^~   ~^~^~^~   ~^~^~^~

Loki looked around, uncomfortable with this place as he stood there with Brunnhilde and Maeve. The very air pushed at them, as if trying to expel unwanted invasion. The horizon was a dull puce color with brown and red-purple swaths, meeting greenish-brown color with a consistency akin to scum in a pond, squelching beneath their feet. The whole place was inhospitable.

Looking down, Loki felt his heart nearly stop in shock. He was blue. The lines marking his parentage and his ability with magic, marked the blue skin with a deep cobalt. Turning, he found Maeve and Brunnhilde looking back at him with very different looks. Brunnhilde’s hand had moved to hover over the hilt of her sword, her face hard, eyes wide. Maeve’s hands reached out to him, stopping just shy of touching him, her face pained.

“Loki?”

“Don’t!”

Loki worried she would forget herself, and touch him, burning her hands terribly. He was sure even the Firebrand were not immune to the dangers of a Frost Giant’s touch. Taking a step back, Loki looked up at his brother’s newest friend.

“I promise, it is still me and I will do you no harm.”

“How?”

Maeve answered for him.

“He’s the son of Laufey, King of the Jotuns. He was abandoned at birth, taken in by King Odin, their magic mingling to give Loki the face you are accustomed to. Frigga and King Odin raised him as Thor’s twin, disguising Frigga’s lack of a second pregnancy as Loki being a sickly twin to the heir, kept hidden till he was healthy enough to be taken into public view. The truth kept from them both until recently.”

Brunnhilde looked back and forth between the Firebrand and the Jotun. Her eyes growing a bit wider for a moment, then the Valkyrie let out a whistle.

“And you’re what? Why was Frigga so convinced you could help protect her Jotun-son from a Titan?”

Maeve turned away from Loki, pulling her hands up, flames of green, blue, red, and orange dancing over her skin. The valkyrie’s eyes looked set to pop from her face.

“A Firebrand! They had gone extinct even before the Last Stand of the Valkyrie. How is it possible that you exist?”

Loki filled her in this time.

“Maeve’s mother was from a long line of Seers, one of which had been a Firebrand’s child gifted with Sight instead of the Flames. When Maeve came with Thor, Volstagg, and myself to a sacred temple, she fell into the flames of the Firebrand temple. When she emerged, she was covered by flames yet untouched.”

Brunnhilde shook her head.

“And I thought Thor was special.”

Turning away from the shuttle, Loki strode back out to the new In Between area. It was worse than he remembered from Frigga’s nightmares he had overseen. He had still been learning to extract memories from a person, as he had done with Brunnhilde shortly after meeting her. Frigga had been aware he pulled from her, though it had been so jumbled that she was not sure how much Loki understood of what he saw. He clearly remembered the In Between place, seeing Thor floating in space as if dead, Heimdall bleeding and screaming as he cast Banner to Midgard, and of his own blue hands holding the Cube. He hadn’t understood most of it, though the images had stuck.

Loki stepped forward as Brunnhilde looked around and Maeve closed her eyes to mutter under her breath. The Valkyrie seemed intent of figuring out where they stood on supplies. Loki had yet to tell her that, due to the change in how time passed, they would not experience hunger for a very long time while they were here. Maeve continued her whispering.

“What do you whisper?”, Loki asked into her ear as he leaned close.

Maeve opened her eyes and looked up to offer him a tired smile.

“I pray the Valkyrie guide those souls to the halls of Valhalla, and that the survivors make their way to aid.”

“Thor and Banner would be the only survivors, aside from us.”

“I know. We’ve got a Valkyrie already, I was thinking more of Thor. I know you guided him to where those space travelers might find him, yet I still worry.”

“As do I.”

Maeve turned to Brunnhilde, shooting the elder warrior a smile.

“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be. I need a drink.”

“When this is over, I’ll have to take you to a place on Midgard that has the best drinks. You’ll like it.”

“I doubt we have the same expectations in drink, Princess.”

“Oh, I’m not a princess, and I’m sure we do. I was going by a place that Frigga had recommended to Asgardians who enjoyed a drink.”

The three of them began walking, each step squishing beneath their boots. And soon, all three began to feel uneasy as they heard voices. Brunnhilde heard the voices of her sisters as they laughed and joked in the days before their final stand, then she heard their battle cries as they charged for Hella. She could hear the whipping of their steeds in the air, their wings beating strongly to carry them to their quarry.

Maeve saw Brunnhilde’s face and knew the Valkyrie had to be experiencing something akin to what was going on in her own ears. Maeve heard people screaming for she, Loki, Thor, and the others to help them, she heard Frigga’s laughter at the wedding she and Loki had in Frigga’s garden, and she heard Loki screaming her name as he had the day she fell into the flames of the Firebrand temple’s centerpiece. She had known both he and Thor feared her dead until she walked out, covered in flame, as scared as they were. Loki had been the one to rush forward, wrapping his cloak around her to extinguish the flames.

Loki, meanwhile, could hear Laufey’s laughter and taunts, the jibes about his appearance and his lack of ability as a warrior, Odin’s every condemnation of him, the laughter of Thor’s friends as they mocked him, but that was nothing to the next level as they ventured further into the In Between place. He began to hear the screaming of his victims on Midgard, as the minions of Thanos, came crashing down on their heads. He felt the world shake as buildings were knocked apart by the alien beings gliding through the air. He could hear Thor calling his name, pleading with him to return to his sanity. Then, the conversation… His last conversation with his mother.

“HE IS NOT MY FATHER!”

“Than am I not your mother?”

He would give nearly anything to take back his answer to her, though he could see in her eyes that she had known the lie for what it was, even before it left his lips. His mother had always known when he was telling the truth, when his words were retribution for the wounds inflicted on him, and when they were just a wall meant to keep the world at a safer distance. She always forgave him, always talked Thor into forgiving him, and shielded him from the retribution of Odin.

“Loki?”

Turning, he looked for Thor. He had heard his brother’s voice, even clearer than Frigga’s.

“Loki?”

He turned. No Thor.

“Loki?”

Looking back, he found Maeve standing in front of him, her dark eyes focused on his.

“Voices?”

He nodded.

“Brunnhilde?”

The Valkyrie nodded.

“Alright, this place makes us hear voices. We must remain alert.”

Brunnhilde shook her head, as if to clear it. Loki understood the urge but resisted. He knew it would do no good. The same voices and scenes greeted him every night in his sleep. No amount of head shaking, screaming, thrashing, or mind-numbing tasks, could take it away.

The small group continued to walk until they got to an area where Brunnhilde and Loki could feel a spike in their power, while Maeve found her skin glowing as if her inner fire were glowing too brightly. Once in this spot, Loki nodded. Frigga had told him about this place, a place where his power- at least certain portions of it, would be enhanced while other parts would nearly disappear. This was where they would need to lay their trap.

“Loki?”

He turned, seeing that Maeve’s entire body seemed to be on fire, glowing like an explosion, as she stepped towards him.

“Loki? What’s happening?”

He moved to reach for her, only to see her dissolve into ashes and blow away in a sudden, invisible wind.

“Maeve? MAEVE!”

He twisted around, looking desperately for her. This had to be a trick. There was no way she could just dissipate that way.

“Where did she go?”

Loki realized what had happened. Thanos’s plan had worked. Half of the universe was gone, collected into the Soul stone to power his gauntlet. The wind was ripped from Loki and he fell to his knees, unfeeling and cold to his core. Thor and his Avengers had been unable to stop Thanos and now it all rested on Thor getting to the In Between place, and Loki’s being able to lure Thanos here for them to defeat him. And even then, they would need someone to wield the stones to bring everyone back.

“Loki? Where did she go?”

“Inside the Soul stone. Thanos has won.”


	2. Dust to Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arriving in the In Between place, the team meet a tall figure with glowing red eyes and blue skin, as well as his white-armored companion. Together, they will all trap a Titan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't own Marvel, sorry.
> 
> Triggers: Hallucinations, survivor's guilt, parent/child issues, broken teeth (not described in detail!)

Loki sat, meditating. Until the shift that would allow Thor and his companions to get to the In Between, there was little else for Loki and Brunnhilde to do but wait. She passed the time practicing with her sword and getting reacquainted with the shuttle they had brought. Loki mostly meditated. The hardest part for him was keeping his mind on the track he wanted it on, rather than allowing it to wander at all. If his mind wandered, it went to worrying about Thor, regrets over his last words to Frigga, his anger at Thanos, his fear for Maeve, and his guilt over all of it.

He could not permit himself to be selfish, to fall into self-loathing, when he needed to be vigilant if he was going to have any hand in undoing all the damage wrought. He needed to stay focused on the turning of the universe to know when the path was clear and when it was closing. He needed to be sure that when Thor and his friends arrived, Loki was ready to set the trap Frigga had trained him for almost all his childhood, for. And as he slipped down into his own mind, opening himself up to the universe, and he felt it. Thor. He was traveling, his Avengers with him, and they were coming in the next few moments.

Loki stood, he needed to get Brunnhilde. Soon, they would have everyone here to handle Thanos and it would be time to set the trap for a titan. He began walking to her and the ship, further away from the area where his powers were their strongest. In the time they had been there, for however long it had been, they had noticed many things. The hallucinations of lost loved ones, the worst moments of their lives echoing in their ears. They had also noticed the changes in their powers, where Loki was unable to shield or change his form here, when he practiced with Brunnhilde it was clear he could still fiddle with her perceptions, see her memories, and pull his knives to spar with her. She found that her alcohol tolerance and her ability to heal from injuries, were faltering constantly while her resistance to magic seemed to be increasing.

Hopefully, when Thor and his Avengers arrived, they would all still have enough of their strengths left to them that they would be effective against Thanos. Loki was sure that Thanos would not be unaffected in this space. Surely the Titan would also find his powers shifted, some stronger and others weaker or even gone, and the entire time he was there the stones would be less apt to follow his will, gauntlet or no.

~*~*~*~   ~*~*~*~   ~*~*~*~

Loki thought he heard it, Thor speaking to someone. He could not make out the words but he would know his brother’s voice anywhere, in any dimension. All of the hallucinations had been crystal clear, sharp and crisp. This had to be real because it was so hard to understand. Stopping, Loki closed his eyes and attempted to focus on the sound. If he could just hone in on it, he could find his brother.

“Loki? It cannot be.”

Turning, Loki laid eyes on his brother for the first time since supposedly dying in front of Thor. Again. Thor stepped forward, his legs seeming a bit wobbly beneath his massive bulk. Loki went to catch his brother, before remembering that he could not touch Thor without harming him. Brunnhilde flew to their side, her ability to run at great speeds increased in this dimension.

Loki looked around. He recognized a few, of course. The Iron Man, the Soldier, the Archer he had wronged under Thanos’s control, the Assassin, and Banner in his large, imposing green form. There were newcomers too. An imposing looking woman with her skin aflame, a blue-skinned woman with a metal arm, three more in suits like the man of Iron but the one with a larger helmet and one clearly female, as well as a small rodent holding a large weapon. They wore matching oddly colored suits, made even more odd by the atmosphere of this strange place.

“I see you’ve made new friends, brother.”

Thor looked at him oddly. It occurred to Loki that Thor was unaccustomed to the difference in his own voice, when in his Jotun form. It sounded like his familiar voice, but if he were standing in a well in the middle of winter, speaking lowly.

“You’re alive?”, Thor asked, bewildered.

It all hit Loki as a stone wall falling over. Everything he had done to his brother, everything Thor had been forced to witness in order to ensure Thor was where Frigga had said he needed to be.

“Yes. I’m sorry, I had to allow you to believe I had been killed. It was only a double.”

He could see the confusion on his brother’s face.

“Your doubles do not have solid form.”

Unable to help himself, Loki smiled. Their mother had done such a wonderful job hiding what all she had taught Loki, that even Thor had been entirely clueless over what Frigga had shared with Loki.

“I never had a need of a solid one before. Takes more concentration. Our mutual friend had to spirit me away once the deed was done, as I was a bit too drained.”

Brunnhilde added, “He left out the part where he made sure you were in place for those Guardians to find you. He wouldn’t leave you simply drifting.”

The woman on fire stepped forward, irritation clear in her burning features.

“Brother?”, she asked. “Doubles? What is going on here?”

Thor, seeing that his team were close enough to have heard most of what had just transpired, turned to address the whole team to fill everyone in.

“He is Loki, my brother. I watched Thanos kill him just before Thanos left me adrift to die in space. Brunnhilde is a Valkyrie, the last of my father’s greatest warriors.”

He could see that most of his friends were duly impressed with Thor’s newest friend, yet they all seemed naturally wary of Loki. Thor figured his brother’s current appearance did little to help them form any new, positive opinions of him. But, having explained who Loki and Brunnhilde were to the team, that left another question yet unanswered.

“How did you fool Thanos, and how did you get here?”

“Thank our mother. She taught me a great deal about disguising myself. She also told Heimdall of the day when it looked like we would die and he would be unable to save us. She warned him to send me here and to send you to Midgard. Heimdall did not live long enough to do both, I could not let him fail in saving you, though I hadn’t the power to send you straight to Midgard. I could make sure you were found.”

Brunnhilde added a few details, but that left Thor looking for Maeve, as Brunnhilde added that she had been with them when they arrived.

“Where is she?”

Loki, usually so capable of hiding his feelings, looked like a puppet who had nearly all his strings cut. He lurched forward a bit, Brunnhilde catching him with one hand to his shoulder, the leather protecting her from the bite of his skin.

“She disappeared.”, Brunnhilde answered.

“When?”

Her look said it all before she spoke. She explained how Maeve seemed like she was overtaken by her own inner flame, then blew away like ash in the wind. Thor almost fell back. Just when Maeve, his brother’s long lost lover, was returned – Thanos took her away. She had been one of the most powerful beings Thor had known, one of the few who could intimidate Loki, though she preferred to make him laugh instead.

“Who is Maeve?”, asked Tony from behind his mask.

Seeing the condition Loki was in, Thor answered for him.

“One of the Firebrand, a dying race who used to help protect Asgard in ages past. They were not as well known as the Valkyrie. Their gift was fire, a flame that came from their very soul, and they can use it as an effective, deadly weapon. I thought she died on the ship… along with Loki, Heimdall, Brunnhilde, and all the rest of Asgard.”

Brunnhilde added, “She almost did.”, Brunnhilde explained what had happened, helping Thor understand why Loki had done as he did.

“I’m sorry, Thor. I needed Thanos to believe I was dead. Mother had warned me, years ago, about a Titan I needed to fear. I suspected, when I met him in the darkness after my fall from the Bifrost.  Yet I did not see him to know him, not until it was too late. By then I was under his sway and unable to wrench free of him. I knew I needed to get here for the trap to work.”

“Trap?”, Steve Rogers asked.

“I meant to lure him here with the believe I had the Soul Stone.”

“But he had the stone, in his gauntlet.”, interjected Tony.

“He would have lost it the moment he used the gauntlet to do his ultimate bidding.”

Tony and Steve both stepped forward, having jumped to the same conclusion. Thor knew this would not go well.

“So, you KNEW what his plan was?”, Tony accused, his finger pointing to Loki’s chest. Thor moved to step between his friend and his brother.

“Yes.”

“And yet you let him do it?”

“I could not have stopped him until after the deed was done. Not until the Soul Stone abandoned him.”, Loki attempted to explain.

Even with the mask and helmet in place, Thor knew that Tony was seething. Nebula came forward and went to strike Loki, only for Bronach to tackle the blue-skinned woman to the ground.

“Let him explain himself!”, Bronach commanded. Thor nodded his thanks to her. She looked between Loki and Thor, her expression one of confusion. Thor supposed she was trying to understand how they were brothers, between the stories Clint had told her and the current difference in their looks. Bronach was about to say something more when the blue woman bucked, causing a great deal of difficulty for Bronach. Bronach raised her hand and moved it as if commanding the shadows, only there were no shadows.

“Bronach?”, Steve called.

She looked up at Steve, almost frantic.

“I can’t move the dark.”

Thor heard Clint swearing under his breath as Natasha moved to help restrain Nebula. She then glared at Loki and issued her own order.

“Explain.”

“I have studied the stones, but more specifically, the Soul Stone. It requires a higher price to attain it. A soul for a soul. He had to sacrifice the person he cared about most in the universe.”

Thor looked to see Clint swearing again.

“Hard to collect anything after committing suicide.”

“There would have needed to be another.”, Loki tried to make them understand. Then Nebula let out a sound, one they all recognized as that of a broken heart. Then she uttered one word. A name.

“Gamora.”

Rocket moved to step between her and Loki, his sharp teeth on display.

“He killed Gamora for the stone. That’s why he needed her so badly.”

Agreeing, Loki added, “I do not know the details, but he would have been required to sacrifice someone he cared about, someone of utmost importance to him, for the Stone to come to him. However, once he used the stone to do the one thing he intended for it when he took possession, he would lose it. The rest of the Stones need the power of the Soul Stone in order for the rest of them to have the sway over the universe that they do. None of them are as powerful without the Soul Stone.”

Loki continued to explain to them of his plan to mimic the Soul Stone, and then to get them to come with him to the strongest point of this place. Where his powers would be strong enough to truly make Thanos think that the Soul stone was sitting on the ground there calling out to the other stones to be reunited. As they walked, Thor filled Loki in on what their plan had been. To come with boxes Shuri made to hold the stones, to keep them stable until they could return them to her. That she was building a gauntlet of her own to allow one of the Avengers to wield the Stones. And he explained that the odd looking suits they wore were meant to help Shuri locate them and pull them through space and time, as needed.

Loki listened intently, to Thor’s explanation. Soon, they would be at the place where their combined ability would be able to stop Thanos. Their mother had foreseen it, and Loki desperately wanted to believe in her vision. She had been right so far, though in his recollection of her memories of her vision, Thor had not sported an eye patch and Loki had not been clothed in Sakaarian leathers. Some details had been missing, others had been completely different than her vision. Of course, as Loki recalled his mother explaining, visions could be as much an impression as a clear image of the future events. It made some sense that she would see Thor and Loki as she imagined they would look, rather than exact images of the future appearances.

~*~*~*~   ~*~*~*~   ~*~*~*~

After they had walked a good while, Tony began asking questions about the alignment, how they would know when it was coming, how Thanos would know, and how Loki was supposed to know. He did not take well to Loki’s saying that Loki knew and was better skilled, so he would have warning he could give the team while Thanos would have to wait for a precise moment to be able to make the leap to meet them. Tony stopped, waving wildly as he had a small fit. But Scott was the one who seemed to more coherently voice Tony’s complaint.

“So, the Scary-Smuf is going to give us a heads up for when we have this Thanos guy trapped and for how long we have until he might be able to escape again? Great.”

Sighing, Loki turned to look at Thor, a determination in his eyes that reminded Thor of a ride not so long ago when they were heading towards those responsible for the death of their mother.

“I will not fail you.”

Thor clapped a hand over his brother’s leather-clad shoulder, keeping the layer between them so as to avoid a severe burn. Loki moved away, clearly more aware and concerned than Thor was, with the effect of being too close to a Frost Giant. It broke Thor a bit to see his brother shrinking away from him again, even if he understood the reason.

“Come. We haven’t much time.”, Thor tried.

“I thought you said you couldn’t keep track of time here?”, inquired Scott.

“I can’t”, Loki told him, “the alignments are not something that happens at exact, regular intervals. It could be minutes or days, even months of time in our universe before the alignments shift just right for traveling. I have learned to read the alignments, and can see when there is a useful one coming. Thanos also knows how to do this, though he does not command my level of skill so he will need to make his jumps when the alignments are at their midway points. I can make them out at the very opening, or closing. I needn’t be so patient for an opportunity to use them.”

They walked a while longer before Loki stopped, looking around. Thor made the pronouncement to help his team understand.

“We’re here.”

Steve came up beside Thor, giving the scene a good look. Thor could tell that his friend was already making up strategies and battle plans.

“Lange, you’re on our six with Pepper. Clint, Nat, 3 o’clock. Bronach, take Rocket and Nebula to our 12. Tony, Hulk, we’re taking 9. Thor, you and Brunnhilde cover Loki. Danvers, you’re our secret weapon.”

The pilot and superhero grinned up at the Captain.

“Yes, sir.”

Everyone moved to assume their positions assigned by Steve, with Loki at the center and Carol hidden behind a lump of earth off to the side. They had not been in place for very long when an odd blue and orange lightening erupted from the ground and Thanos appeared at the center of it. He had the Gauntlet, minus the Soul Stone, his arm looking injured and burned below the Gauntlet’s touch.

The mad titan stepped forward, seemingly ready to fight them all again, not at all worried. Then, he seemed to faulter. Loki glanced over to see the look on the face of the woman who had tackled the blue-skinned woman, and seemed so attached to the soldier out of time.  Her eyes were black without any white showing as she focused on Thanos. Meanwhile, the mouthy one who asked so much, had shrunken down to the size of a wasp in order to crawl under the gauntlet. Loki did not fully understand the power held in the human witch, but he recognized enough to know she was intensifying the effects of this place. Whatever would have haunted Thanos, she was making much worse, much more tangible and harder to dismiss.

Thanos fell to his knees while the team all took part, the archer fired while the assassin beat at the titan’s lower half, everyone had their part to play, including the shrinking mad as he made the gauntlet grow while the Stones stayed the same size, causing them to fall loose from their baskets. The super-soldier moved to collect the stones, placing each in one of the boxes as the woman in her own Iron Man suit held them out for him.

Once the Stones were secured and the Titan lay on his knees, his ruined stub showing the small damage the Stones had done to him for the privilege of using them, Loki let the illusion drop and the human witch appeared to do the same. Thanos looked around, understanding dawning on his features. He realized what they had done.

Loki watched as Nebula, the blue skinned woman with her mechanical limb, stalked forward towards Thanos. Her head tilted to one side, like a bird studying his next meal, her black eyes keen on her prey. When she was almost within striking distance, she crouched low, her voice so quiet Loki could barely make out what she growled out.

“You took Gamora. I’m taking her back. Goodbye, Father.”

Turning, she walked off without even a pause. Loki fought back a bitter smile. The lesser child. He knew what that felt like. The festering wound in your chest. Loki was pulled from his thoughts by motion in the corner of his eye. He looked up to see Thor coming closer to the prone Thanos.

“I told you that I would kill you.”

“And is that what is about to happen?”, the Titan asked wearily.

“Not just yet.”

Lightening cracked the unnatural sky, and Thor called out as if trying to be heard in the halls of Valhalla, before bringing his weapon to bear on the gauntlet. The lightening and Stormbreaker destroyed the golden atrocity in a single blow. Thanos could never again use it to control the Stones.

“Now you cannot use the Stones to do your bidding.”, Thor pronounced.

“No, son of Odin. I cannot. But you cannot unto what has been done, without first getting the Soul Stone. Could any of you have the strength to sacrifice the person you love most, in order to restore the universe? I don’t think you could.”

“Because you killed everyone we loved most, dipshit!”, the rodent hurled at Thanos.

Thor’s new friend, the one called Carol, stepped forward towards Thanos.

“There are other ways to power the Stones.”

“Ah, the one who kept me in place while they each took their turn.”, Thanos greeted her.

“Yes.”

“How do you plan to power the Stones without the most important Stone?”

“Don’t worry, it won’t include you.”, she said before rearing back and punching Thanos so hard that it broke his teeth and left him to slump unconscious, falling to the ground. When she looked up, all the Avengers were looking at her, some more amused than others.

“I think stranding him here forever, powerless, while we fix what he did, is the most fitting punishment.”

“I agree.”

They all turned their heads to look at Nebula as she circled her ‘Father’.

“I want him to spent eternity in this nightmare realm, tortured by visions of Gamora’s death.”

Everyone looked back and forth among their ranks, while Thor moved over to put a meaty hand on Loki’s shoulder as Loki sat back on his haunches, both wrung out.

“We’ve got less than an hour to get the Stones out of here.”

Everyone turned to look at Steve, before checking his math against each of their own timers. Thor tapped his button to signal Shuri to bring them home. Each team member in turn, tapped their own buttons to let Shuri know to bring them back, however Thor worried for how they would get Brunnhilde and Loki to Earth, being that neither wore a suit and Brunnhilde’s ship had been badly damaged getting to the In Between. Before Thor could say another word, he was swept up into the lights and a moment later, found himself in Shuri’s lab, beside Tony, Pepper, and Rocket. Leaping, Thor went over to Shuri.

“My brother! He was there! My brother and Brunnhilde, they were waiting for us. They helped us! We must bring them back!”


	3. Reformed, Whole Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating Thanos in the In Between place, as Frigga had prepared Loki, Heimdall, and Thor to someday do, it is time to wait and see if they were successful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again- I haven't see ENDGAME (and am not planning to) so no spoilers, just guesswork.
> 
> I'm sorry about the delay in posting the new chapter. Life- Ugh.
> 
> If you've read OUT OF THE DARK (pt6 of the Shape of Shadows series I'm writing), then you know most of what happens in this chapter- just from Steve & Bronach's perspectives in OUT OF THE DARK, while this is pretty much entirely Loki's take. Includes a few new details about the Guardians, Clint, etc., plus more from the FIRE & ICE characters.
> 
> Triggers: Burns mentioned but not described in any detail, survivor's guilt?, brief description of being unable to move or breathe for a few seconds, and maybe the idea of feeling unworthy.

Shuri flew to the control panel, desperately plugging in new parameters for the recall procedure. Hopefully, she would be able to adjust it enough to pull everyone back through. She configured it to pull from the area surrounding the team, trying to make it smart enough to detect what was a life form and what was just dirt or errant energy. She was nearly finished when the second group came up.

Scott, Nebula, Clint, and Natasha appeared, Clint the wobbliest on his feet. Natasha reached to steady him as Nebula moved away from the platform. Shuri went back to her panel, furiously working to ensure that this time, she would be able to pull the group up AND pull up the two new members of the team. Thor watched, noticing a few flickers of light that he had not seen the previous time she pulled people up.

Then a light blossomed and faded, leaving everyone to look at the figures standing on the platform. Carol, Bruce, Bronach, and Steve, holding Loki with one hand and Brunnhilde with the other. Shuri jumped once, her face split with a smile. Thor rushed over to his brother and his friends, seeing that Steve had already dropped his hand, a frost-burn having gone through his glove to injure the soldier. Loki stepped back, his coloring returning to what Thor was accustomed to seeing.

Thor checked, seeing the Natasha and Bronach had stepped in to shuffle Steve off wherever he could get medical attention. Looking back at his brother, Thor felt a new fear grip at him. Loki looked too-thin, sickly grey, and wrung out. Brunnhilde looked a bit worse for the wear, though nowhere near as bad as Loki.

“Come,” Thor offered, “we must rest. Tomorrow we have a lot to do.”

“No.”, Carol snapped.

“Let’s do this now. I don’t want anyone to wait even a second longer than they have to. My best friend’s daughter is missing. I’m getting her baby back for her, NOW.”

Shuri dashed over to the new Avenger, handing over the Wakandian Gauntlet. The thing did not look large and bulky as Thanos’s had, rather it appeared a blackened-steel color with a slim band around each finger, another around the wrist, and a long, flat piece that protected the back of the wear’s hand and arm from direct contact with the stones. Each stone would have a slot, as with Thanos’s gauntlet. There was only one problem.

“We need to figure out how to get the Soul Stone, then we can get this thing working. Any leads?”, Carol asked of the group.

Loki moved closer in with the group, everyone attempting to think of something to help. For all of his studying, Loki had no idea where to look for the Stone now. He supposed that it could have returned from whence it came, meaning they would have to trek to the other side of the universe to reclaim it. This would also mean someone must pay the ultimate price for it. The same one demanded of Thanos.

Loki moved off, allowing Tony and Bruce to their own figurings while Thor, Shuri, Carol, and Brunnhilde were in another part of the room to ruminate over their hypothesizes. Loki needed to be away from all the nerves and anxiousness of the room. It was choking him. He turned to leave, only to see Nebula, the cyborg-like blue-skinned assassin, holding out her cybernetic arm as it glowed.

A silence overtook the room as everyone came closer to inspect the glow of her forearm. Most of them seemed stunned, shocked, amazed at this. Loki understood the reasoning, even if it had come as a total surprise to him that the Stone would reveal itself this way.

“Gamora willingly gave her life for yours, the Stone believed the debt settled, granted itself to you.”, Loki explained to the black-eyed woman. She gave a quick nod.

“Then may I add it to the Princess’s gauntlet so the glowing soldier can bring everyone back?”, she asked.

“Yes.”, Loki answered.

The assassin moved over to where Carol stood, still glowing as she had in the In Between place. Offering her arm, Nebula left the Stone in plain view.

“Come on, Princess. I don’t have all day.”, she said as she inclined her head in a bird like fashion, towards the Wakandian Princess.

Shuri quickly took up a pair of tongs, removing the Stone from where it was nestled in the blue woman’s arm, then placing it into the gauntlet worn by the glowing soldier. Carol then moved to stand away from the rest of those in the room, letting out a deep breath as she pulled up her hand.

“Here goes nothing.”

Time shifted oddly, allowing them all to see things as they had happened, as they had yet to happen, and as they might have happened. Everything shifted around them, then just as quickly, it all stopped. For the span of a single breath, it felt as though everything but their awareness, had completely stopped. Frozen. Then it snapped back and they were in a new timeline, one where things had shifted slightly and they won the fight against Thanos, returning their loved ones. Or so Loki dared hope.

~*~*~   ~*~*~   ~*~*~

Outside, Loki, Nebula, and Rocket waited at the edge of the scene. A wave of people crested the nearby hillside, one man in particular swooping down on metal wings to land in front of Steve. Some soldiers of Wakanda ran to their Princess’s side. The Ant-Man, Scott, had his daughter, girlfriend, and the parents of his girlfriend, all rush down the hill to meet him. He scooped his daughter up, swirling her in the air before pulling her close, just in time for his girlfriend to crash against him and nearly knock him to the ground.

Nebula watched, her focus and breathing betraying her hope. Next to her, Rocket stood almost bouncing on his toes as he frantically scanned the crowd, overwrought with hope, sadness, anger, grief, and fear. Loki knew it well. He too, sought desperately to find the person he had lost to the mad titan’s power. Loki knew, theoretically, everyone should be returned. Yet he also knew that they had changed time and reality, an unnatural amount of power fought another unnatural amount of power. There were no guarantees. No certainties.

Heimdall and Groot were the first recogniseable faces to appear, in the second wave of returned souls. Rocket rushed on all fours to meet his friend near the top of the hill, leaping into the young Groot’s arms. Groot spun Rocket around, babbling about how happy he was to be free of the Soul Stone and back with his friend. Then, the pair spotted more familiar faces, a woman with antennae, a tattooed bruiser of a man, and what appeared to be an oddly dressed human. Heimdall, meanwhile, went to greet Thor with a warrior’s handshake and a nod before coming to cast his golden glare upon the dark Prince of Asgard. Despite all he had been through, the Guardian of the Bifrost appeared unchanged by it.

“It is good that you listened to your mother, Odinson.”

Heimdall offered his hand as he had done with Thor and Loki returned it. Heimdall offered the faintest of smiles before returning to where Thor and Brunnhilde waited. Loki was about to leave when he felt another presence beside him. The human archer, Hawkeye. From what little Loki had overheard in the In Between place, the assassin’s wife and children had disappeared in Thanos’s Snap, leaving the man dangerously unhinged.

“I’m sorry, and I know that it does little to soothe what I have done. But, for what happened in the Avengers facility and New York, I am sorry. I was not myself.”

Clint nodded, letting out a long breath before speaking.

“Thor already explained.”, he said before looking up at Loki. “We’re cool.”

With that, the assassin stepped forward to move into the crowd, looking about for the family that had been stolen from him.  The soldier out of time, his shadow, the Black Widow, and the winged-man all stood nearby waiting until they saw a man with shaggy locks and a metal arm.

“BUCKY!”

“Steve?”

The two men ran for each other, clearly relieved to be back together, with their friends and the team on Earth. Everywhere around him, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the people of Wakanda, were having their loved ones returned to them. Even Sif appeared from overtop the hill, rushing down into Thor’s waiting arms. Loki could hear the so-called Guardians as they rejoiced at the return of Gamora. A third and then a fourth wave of people crested the hill, rushing down to meet those familiar to them below. Loki turned, unable to bear witness to it any further.

He figured he could get lost in this world. Thor had spoken highly of it and in the few trips Loki had made over the last few decades, it seemed a rather easy world to get lost in. He could live out the years in anonymity, appearing when Thor needed him but otherwise keeping to himself. Or, perhaps, if Thor were to make his home away from Midgard, Loki might be welcome to accompany his brother.

“Loki?”

He froze. Turning, he saw Thor looking away from him, a smile spread over his features. Following his brother’s gaze, Loki saw what he had not dared to fully allow a hope for. His Maeve. She dashed down the hill as Loki rushed up it, the two colliding in the middle. Loki twisted them so that they fell onto his back, Maeve landing atop him as she laughed.

“Loki! Loki! You’re alive!”

“You’re back.”, he whispered, his hands memorizing her face as she looked down at him.

“I’m not that easy to get rid of.”, she teased.

Loki pulled her to his chest, feeling the warmth of her seeping into his bones. It was the only warmth he had ever craved.


	4. A Mother's Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the return of their loved ones and the rebirth of Asgard, Loki and Thor now rule Asgard as High Prince and King (Respectively), and are now rejoicing the recent good news they are soon to share with the Kingdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> No trigger warnings.  
> Sif and other characters return.  
> Please enjoy!!!

Loki rose from his bed, his chest heaved as the final tendrils of his nightmare still clung to his mind.  He could almost feel his heart shaking as badly as his hands. Despite the years since his time under Thanos’s control, Loki had yet to shake the nightmares where he was still a puppet to the mad titan, made to do the villain’s bidding. Worse, sometimes he dreamed of the gleeful delight he took in hurting Thor. Then he would see Frigga’s face when he was brought to stand trial for his deeds done both before and during his time under Thanos’s control.

He pushed the hair away from his face with an unsteady hand. Maeve told him she preferred his hair at the length he was wearing it upon their reunion on Sakaar, and so he had decided he would keep it longer for her. However, he could hardly argue he did not reap any benefit, seeing as Maeve greatly enjoyed running her finger through it to soothe him or when she made to seduce him after an argument between them. Loki knew Maeve was not next to him, without using his free hand to seek her out over on her side of their bed.

Last night, Maeve had told him of a meeting she had in the morning, one she was taking on Queen if’s behalf. Brunnhilde had gone off with the human-Kree hybrid, Carol Danvers. The two were off on their own adventures these days, seeing the universe and protecting the defenseless whenever the chance was presented to the pair. Thor, Heimdall, Sif, Loki, and Maeve had returned to the site where they expected to find rubble and asteroids that had once been home. Instead, Asgard stood with some signs of the fight between Hela and Surtur, and most of her people having survived in this version of reality and time.

Since then, Brunnhilde left with Carol, Heimdall had resumed his post guarding over the royal family, the capital city, and the whole of Asgard, Maeve and Loki had wed officially in a small ceremony, Volstagg had given Sif away at a huge state wedding to Thor with several Avengers in attendance, and the Nine Realms had known a new peace. There were still skirmishes and treaty negotiations, yet it was far more cam than the previous decade had been with Thanos and the many battles leading up to his final attack on half the universe. And, due to Thor’s most recent announcement, Maeve and Loki were attempting to cover for the King and Queen of Asgard.

Loki quickly dressed and readied himself for the day, as he had a meeting he was required to help Thor with. Despite Thor knowing several languages, the Eippa people had a language Thor was hopeless at. Thus, Loki was required at all meetings that involved the Eippa priestesses who came to negotiate trade deals and offer blessings. Donning his robes and boots last, Loki made his way to the royal hall. For years he had sat in the shadows, envious of Thor’s glory and the adoration heaped upon him. Now, Loki felt as though he was important and appreciated by his family and his people.

~*~*~   ~*~*~*~   ~*~*~

Thor smiled a dopey smile as he sat with Loki in a balcony above the receiving courtyard, waiting for Sif’s return. She had left early in the morning for a meeting of utmost importance and Thor eagerly awaited her news upon her return. Loki, already somewhat aware of what the news would be, was mostly just entertained at his brother’s giddiness. He was like a child on their name day. It amused him to no end seeing his brother and king this way. Though, as a brother, he was deeply happy for Thor.

“I am unsure how much longer I can sit waiting.”

“She will return, there is no need to worry.”

“I know she will return, Loki. I am impatient for it. I wish to know what she was told by the Seers.”

Loki let out a small sigh. It he had more of this to look forward to, he would need to meditate more often. He would also need Maeve to not travel so much so they could work together to wrangle these royals.

“She’s here! She’s here, brother!”, Thor called before taking off down the corridor and veering off to the stairs. Loki shook his head, staying in place to watch the proceedings from a safe distance. Thor careened into a wall, bounced off, then used the momentum to launch himself toward Sif and her accompaniment. As Queen of all of Asgard, she was not permitted to leave the city without some form of escort. Not even on a trip to the Seers.

Thor reached, helping her down from her saddle. Most women in her condition might ride in a carriage or opt for a sedan of some kind. Not the Warrior Queen Sif. She rode, despite the large protrusion at her middle. Loki was still amazed at how gently Thor handled the warrior, both for the rarity of Thor’s being so mindful when he was so excited and at Sif’s permitting it. Though, it seemed that since their mother’s death, Sif had been more patient with Thor.

“Well, what news do you bring, my Queen?”

Loki rolled his eyes. Sif shook her head. Thor was the only one who seemed fond of the endearment.

“I am birthing the largest bilgsnipe they have ever Seen.”

While Loki chuckled up in the balcony, Thor appeared unamused at his bride’s joke.

“Come now, no more jokes woman. I wish to know if we shall have a prince or princess, to carry on our legacy and rule Asgard. I have waited all day, please do not make me wait longer?”

Even Sif was not immune to the look in the King’s eyes, relenting after only a brief pause meant to torture her husband as much as she could bear to do so. Loki gave her credit, it was far longer than any other woman ever had done.

“We are to have a Princess, Thor.”

Thor pumped both fists in the air, a smile as wide as the Bifrost was long, spreading along his face, and an excited shout escaping him. Sif shook her head, chuckling as she crossed her arms atop her bulging stomach. Then, with a final whoop, Thor pulled her up into his arms, spinning her around twice before placing her gently back onto her feet. He was more excited than a new groom.

“Spying again?”

Loki grinned, slowly turning to face his own bride, the High Princess Maeve. She had slipped in behind Sif and her guards. Loki enjoyed watching her stride over in her snug black pants, form-fitting tunic, and flowing cape billowing behind her as she pulled her hood back to reveal the red hair piled onto her head. Her statesman look, as he liked to teasingly call it. Somewhere between a Diplomat and a Soldier, she meant for it to intimidate as much as she meant it to be flattering.

“How else am I to know everything I need to know?”

She shrugged then moved to stand beside him, looking down at the scene below. Thor was wrapping his arms around Sif once more, excitedly talking about what their future daughter would look like and how well she would get along with everyone, that she would be beloved and respected.

“Loki, you said in the movements you see when you meditate, that you have seen chunks of the future. What does their daughter’s future look like?”

Loki smiled, thinking of the lovely face his niece would have and the sweet nature she would be born with. He had loved her from the moment he saw her in a vision, and he knew he would have done anything for her just as he would do anything for Thor.

“Her hair will be of spun gold but her eyes a white-blue like Sif’s, with her mother’s chin and her father’s laugh. She will have Sif’s keen eye for reading people and Thor’s boundless enthusiasm for adventures. She will be every bit as skilled with weapons as her parents and better than either at diplomatic pursuits. The first word most will think to describe her with, is Kind. Patient and loyal, passionate but cautious, she will make a great Queen of Asgard, though she will have a brief career as a superhero on Midgard. A family tradition, that her son and daughter will later follow.”

“Oh, so Thor’s getting one of each for grandchildren? That’s good. He’ll spoil them rotten.”

Loki nodded, adding, “Especially the girl. She will act just like her mother, though a fair amount less boldly and will be a bit less thirsty for adventure when she’s younger. Her brother, he will be the one who looks like their mother and will be the apple of Sif’s eye, always at her side, bouncing on her knees, learning to fight with her old weapons, riding behind her on her horse.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

Loki tucked Maeve into his side as they watched Thor and Sif excitedly chatting away.

“They will have a good life, all of them. Including their second daughter, who will have Sif’s raven locks and Thor’s temper, but she will mellow as she grows, and she will have Thor’s gift for making people love her despite her flaws while also having Sif’s deep loyalty as a trait that makes her the best and most trusted friend to her elder sister. They won’t get long to relax before their younger daughter arrives.”

Maeve leaned to kiss him.

“Thanks for the preview.”

He turned, kissing her neck and behind her ear. She smelled of flames and smoke. He loved it, though he was not a fan of the hair, tugging a few pins to release the waves down her shoulders and back.

“Better.”

“Shouldn’t I be the judge of what is better, when it is my hair?”

Loki shook his head.

“Not when I know how you detest having to restrain it when you are in your official capacity.”

She chuckled at him and appeared ready to say something else on the matter before they were interrupted by an ambassador from Nyella. He was a tall man, standing nearly as tall as Thor, with a thin build and skin the color of freshly picked lavender. His piercing yellow eyes focused on them as he moved for a low bow.

“Princess Maeve, Prince Loki. I greet you in peace.”

Maeve inclined her head, as did Loki. Nyellans were great believers in wishing peace upon those you met, both friend and stranger.

“And to you as well, Ambassador T’rabbaen.”, Maeve offered.

“I have recently heard your King’s good news, your highnesses. Peace be with he and his Queen, may they be delivered a healthy heir and strong son to continue their line.”

Maeve nodded, hiding well that she knew what Sif and Thor were to expect. Loki smiled, reminding himself that he still had two more meetings with the ambassador before the week was out.

“Perhaps your own union will soon bear fruit to strengthen the power of the Asgardian throne?”

Loki waited, knowing how it would end.

“Doubtful, though I thank you for your well-wishes. And thank you for your kind words in our meeting this morning, however I believe you are about to be late for your next meeting.”

T’rabbaen nodded, bowing before stepping backwards two steps, turning, and walking out of the area. Maeve was now simmering. She hated the assumption being so readily made. She was far worse, however, when anyone dared imply that Loki was somehow at fault or lacking in some fashion, and that was the reason why she and Loki had no heirs. The fact was that neither of them wanted children, and both were content to help take care of Thor and Sif’s children.

“Maeve?”

“I know, I know. Don’t fry him. I won’t.”

Loki leaned over, wrapping an arm around her back and pressing her into his side a bit. They watched Thor and Sif for a long moment before turning and heading back for their own chambers. It would be time for the banquet soon enough, and that meant fancy attire had to put on and they needed to arrive a bit early in order to be in place to walk in behind Sif and Thor, to start off the festivities. They were to announce the impending birth officially, along with an estimated date for the heir’s arrival. Then there would be feasting, toasting, drinking, dancing, and later the celebratory lights the Midgardian people called fireworks. Loki did not care for most of the feasting and other portions of any celebration, though he had always loved the fireworks.

Back in their shared chambers, Loki flicked his wrist and was back in his sleep pants and robe. He sat on the edge of the bed as he watched Maeve move about the room, gathering the pieces she would wear this evening and removing layers of her current attire. First it was the boots, then the cape, and then the leather jerkin and outer tunic. She laid out a dark pewter and black outfit, a dark purple sash with sparkling threads of silver and pearl in it, as the only real color to the outfit. Thor always wore red with silver and gold, Sif preferred shades of blue with silver and hints of blue, Loki wore his usual green and gold, and Maeve nearly always wore predominantly black and pewter.

Loki watched, eyes hungry as Maeve shed everything but her pants and her undershirt, her red hair flowing freely. He had yet to tire of seeing her this way, the way that only he was permitted by her to see.

“Husband, you look as if you are about to pounce me.”

“Am I not?”, he teased.

“We have a banquet to attend. Remember? To celebrate the impending birth of your niece and future Queen of Asgard?”

He nodded, pushing himself off the edge of the bed to slowly walk over to his wife.

“Yes, I do. However, you have forgotten one small, little detail?”

“And that would be?”

“That I can change out clothing with a snap of my wrist, so we have quiet a while we may spend however we please before we have to prepare for the feast.”

She nodded, moving closer to reached and hold the edges of his robe in her hands, smiling up at him like a woman with a secret she enjoyed keeping.

“What if I were to propose a deal?”

“What sort of deal?”

“One that does not make us late for the feast, but does wonders for your mood while we are there?”

“I’m listening.”, Loki purred in her ear as he worked his way from kissing there to kissing the juncture of her neck, heading towards her shoulder.

“We sit back here, relax for a while, you magic us into our proper attire, we go to the party, we talk, eat, dance, whatever they have planned for us, then we leave a bit early with some  excuse or another, and we come back here where you can finish that thought you were having.”

“What thought?”, he teased as he ran his nose along the neckline of her shirt.

“The one where you ravish me for hours to get rid of all that pent up energy from your long, boring meetings that took up most of your day.”

“You make me sound like some sort of mindless animal, my love.”

She grinned at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“How would you put it, what you have planned?”

“That we come back here and I spend the night worshiping my own, personal goddess of fire and flames. That I spend the entire night reminding her how I love my wife.”

“I suppose that is one way to put it.”, she got out before he scooped her up and unceremoniously dumped her on the bed.

Maeve backed up, smirking at her husband while he came around the bed and moved to lay beside her, placing his head in her lap and waving his hand to cause a book to fall from the ceiling of the bed. It was not a new trick, however it was one of Maeve’s favorites. Plucking it from the air, Maeve picked up where they had left off, and started to read aloud. A collected work on the history of Bifrost travel, the inaccuracies were few and far between, allowing minimal interruptions from Loki to correct it. Or so she had thought.

“What disturbs you?”

“Pardon?”

“You seem… distracted.”

“I’m well.’, she said before reading a few more pages, stopping at the end of the third age.

“Loki?”

“Yes?”

“You are alright with us not-having children?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I suggested not-having them and said how I had never held any desire to have them, yet you simply agreed. I don’t wish to force it upon you, if you had wanted them.”

“Thor will have two, the throne is safe. Like yourself, I never had any desire for children, no dream of parenthood. Besides, a Firebrand and a Frost Giant crossbreed. Can you imagine the terrible war such a child would feel inside, at all times?”

“I can, though I feel it falls far shy of the reality, and I am sure the reality is not a kind, gentle one for such a child.”

Reaching up, Loki cupped her cheek, his thumb making a gentle sweep across the apple of her cheek.

“I have few desires, Princess. All of them I have seen come to pass and I am content. Happy, even. I had never thought I would know happiness. I feared it was not in my nature, and never have I been so grateful to be wrong.”

Maeve leaned down, pressing her lips to her husband’s cool, thin ones. She had missed this, during all those years they were separated before Sakaar. She missed all the quiet moments with Loki, where they were not under the eyes of Asgard or when they were out on adventures with Thor, Sif, Volstagg, Falstaff, and Hogan. Though she also missed those night encamped, while on their adventures, with Volstagg spinning some yarn with Loki and Hogan adding bits here and there to render a more accurate recounting of the events.

“Promise me we’ll have this forever?”

“I promise we’ll have this for as long as you will have me, Maeve.”

“Good, then we’ll have it forever.”

“Will you count?”

“I’ve counted to forever before, waiting for you. I’m not counting anymore, just enjoying. I love you, dear Loki. And I don’t intend to ever lose you again.”

“And I will not lose you again either, my Princess.”

“Good. Now, we have a feast to prepare for.”

“Alright, alright. You’ve won this round, but you do not fight fair.”

She grinned, leaning to peck a quick kiss on the tip of his nose.

“Why do you think I always win?”

~*~*~   ~*~*~*~   ~*~*~

Watching from the edge of the room, Maeve enjoyed seeing Volstagg and his wife as they danced a lively old folk dance, Thor and Volstagg’s eldest daughter doing their best to keep up, as Loki spoke with an old advisor of Odin’s. She had not seen Sif in a while, though she was aware that before her pregnancy, Sif had not been one for loads of dancing. She preferred the story telling, card games, and the feasting. Then, Maeve saw Sif in her peripheral and turned to greet her Queen with a low bow. Sif rolled her eyes, a hand moving to cup her large belly through her heavy red dress.

“Please, we’ve known each other too long and too well for such frivolous displays.”

Maeve chuckled lightly, unable to dispute it. Turning back to the party, both women watched the dancing kick up a notch in speed as the musicians got excited in their playing.

“Thor loves dancing at these feasts.”

“That he does. I remember when we were all learning the steps to these dances. He would get so excited, sometimes I think he would have danced even if he had broken his toes.”

“He most certainly would have, gleefully.” Sif agreed, “He left bruises on you for a week when we were learning the Summer Saunter.”

“Oh dear, I had forgotten all about that.”

“When do you expect you and Loki will be making your own birth announcements? Now that Thor and I will soon have our heir, there will be no worries over succession. You could easily have as many as you wish without concern over the advisers, diplomats, and gentry constantly whispering about succession.”

“We do not intend to have any children, Sif. With Loki’s parentage and mine, it may not even be possible if we were of a mind to have children.”

Sir let out a long sigh.

“I owe Thor a mare.”

“Pardon?”

Sif gestured as she spoke, indicating her bet.

“Thor and I had a bet about you and Loki having children, and I bet that you were simply waiting an appropriate time and you would wrangle Loki into his duty. Thor was sure that you and Loki had decided not to have children at all, for a multitude of reasons. He gets a new mare if he wins, I was to get a new sword of my choice if I won.”

“I suppose you need to pick out a suitable mare.”

“I was sure you would make Loki understand his duties and persuade him to seeing that he ought to have children.”

“He says that one Odingrandchild is enough, though he is sure the two of you will have more. I agree with him.”

“A shame. You would have made a wonderful mother, I think.”

Maeve smiled.

“While I thank you for the compliment, I prefer being an amazing aunt.”

Glancing, Maeve noticed Thor appeared to be looking around, seeking someone. It was not hard to guess who.

“I believe your husband is looking for his bride.”

Sif smiled.

“When he was sent to Earth and became so enamored, I feared this would not come to pass. Then we lost Asgard… I am glad you were able to help Loki, and that he and Thor were able to gather with the Avengers to bring this back to us all.”

“Me, too.”

Sif smiled brightly before moving out to join Thor for a single, more slowly paced turn about the floor. Maeve was about to go looking for Loki when she felt a cool, long-fingered hand slip around the small of her back. She turned her head to place a kiss on his cheek.

“Hello, stranger.”

“I recall you promising that you would leave early with me and that we would spend the night far better in our rooms than in the Great Hall.”

She nodded slowly, as if only just now recalling this promise.

“Hm, it does sound vaguely familiar.”

“This was only a few hours ago.”, he teased before kissing her temple.

“Come then, husband. Let us retire to our chambers and not leave again until Thor threatens to remove the doors.”

His smirk was devilish as he quickly swept her into his arms and walked down a back stair with her, both of them laughing quietly as if in some conspiracy. They were happy. Meanwhile, back in the Great Hall, Thor raised a goblet to toast Odin and Frigga in Valhalla, Sif leaning against him as she smiled tiredly and happily. Volstagg and his wife cheered along with the room, Hogan and Falstaff raised their goblets, and Brunnhilde sat with Carol Danvers to raise their gasses as well.

Thor and his beloved Sif were happy, their daughter soon to enter the world. Loki and his Firebrand were happy and always there for Thor.The Kingdom was safe. The nine realms were in peace. Frigga smiled from her vantage point in Valhalla, glowing in happiness at the good lives her boys now had.

“Rule well, my sons, and may you always be loved.”, she quietly prayed.

“I love you both, always.”


End file.
